


Her Singing

by Rocofort



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, I'm Bad At Tagging, Internalized Homophobia, Sad, Sexual Abuse, Slow Burn, my summary sucks, tags dont do it justice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21808420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocofort/pseuds/Rocofort
Summary: Annabeth wanted to hide. She couldn’t think straight. After fighting the giant Mimas, she felt a swirl of emotions she hated. Emotions weren’t logical. They didn’t make sense, and Annabeth couldn’t figure hers out.Piper has a crush. A big one.Get ready for angst my children.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Piper McLean
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	1. Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> The song is called Runner by From Indian Lakes. All of his songs are really good I highly recommend you listen to his music :) anyway I don’t know if I should continue this but let me know if you like it.

Annabeth stared at passing countryside, leaning against the railing. She hadn’t slept for two days. She couldn’t. The moon was full, high in the sky, mocking her. Her mind was constantly racing, and Annabeth couldn’t help but let her mind do so. The whole experience in the cave with the giant Mimas was too much. Everything she ever feared came true. Anyone could be smart, you didn’t need a godly parent for that. Leo has his fire, Hazel has her gems, Frank can shape shift, Percy controls the sea, Jason the sky, even Piper has her charmspeak. 

Piper. Annabeth couldn’t get the daughter of Aphrodite out of her head either. When ever Annabeth closed her eyes, Piper’s beautiful kaleidoscope eyes stared back.

“Hey Annabeth.” 

Annabeth turned around and saw Leo. 

“Hi.” Annabth turned back around, and Leo joined her against the railing. 

“Can’t sleep?” Leo asked, his hands fidgeting with some pipe cleaner. 

Annabeth nodded her head. They both stood there, staring at the moon, until Leo broke the silence.

“I know I’m not the most... emotionally aware person, but I can tell something is off about you Annabeth. Ever since you and Piper got back, you’ve been acting strange. Are you okay?”

This wasn’t the first time someone asked her. Percy was worried too, she knew. She saw the looks of worry on everyone’s faces.

“I...I don’t know. It was probably the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.”

“You know who would be better at helping? Piper. I can always talk to beauty queen. She is a great listener, and I know she is up too, I saw the light on in her room. I think you should go talk to her.”

Annabeth really didn’t want to. Ever since Piper saved her, emotions Annabeth couldn’t figure out had formed. She was mess. But at the same time, Piper was a good listener. 

Leo grabbed her wrist and guided her to Piper’s door before she could get out a single protest. Annabeth stood outside her door, not wanting to knock. Leo decided to just knock for her, and disappeared before the door opened.

Piper opened her door a moment later. Her was up in a messy bun, and she had pajama pants with little bunnies on and a too big orange camp shirt. Her eyes looked dull, but she smiled when she saw Annabeth. 

“Hey Annabeth, couldn’t sleep either?”

Right now Annabeth cursed Leo, she stuttered nervously. Annabeth never stuttered.

“Well...um yeah I couldn’t sleep and noticed your lights on.”

Piper gave her a smile, “Come in then.”

Piper gently guided Annabeth to her bed, and they both sat down shoulder to shoulder. Annabeth stared at the floor, not knowing how to break the silence. 

She could feel Piper’s gaze on her, but didn’t want to look up. Piper just grabbed her hand and wrapped her other around Annabeth’s shoulder. Piper gently stroked her knuckles. Annabeth didn’t know what came over her, but the tears started coming out and sobs wracked her body. Annabeth rested her head on Piper’s shoulder and cried. She cried for Luke, for her Dad, for Athena, for Reyna, for all her failures. Years of her emotions poured out of her, and she cried until no more tears would come out of her puffy eyes.

Piper reached over and grabbed a tissue from her nightstand and wordlessly handed it to Annabeth. She blew her nose and let out a shaky breath, before finally looking up at Piper. 

Piper’s eyes conveyed so much emotion. There was concern and sadness in her eyes, but also understanding. 

“I can’t believe you have to see me like this. I’m a mess.” Annabeth said, hiccuping from sobbing so much.

“Annabeth, it’s okay to cry. I can tell you haven’t let yourself deal with your emotions. I’m here to listen, or just hand you tissues if you need.”

Annabeth chuckled dryly. She hated that Piper was right. Annabeth hated that she on the other hand was clueless about it. Emotions never make sense. They are confusing and ugly and unforgiving. 

“I just, I can’t stop thinking about Mimas. I was so useless and confused. I can’t shake that feeling of dread from my mind. If you weren’t there Piper...”

“Annabeth, don’t go down that road of what ifs, you do so much for the team. It’s okay to let other people help you. We look out for each other, and everyone had a role.”

“But you guys could get anyone thats smart. You don’t need to have a godly parent to be smart. I feel useless, I was useless against Mimas, what am I going against the Gaea, stab the ground?”

“No Annabeth, you aren’t just here for your smarts. You are so much more then that. You keep us all together. You make sure no one is out of line. You were chosen for a reason to be one of the seven, just like me. Sometimes you let your mind think to much, and that’s okay, you just can’t suppress your emotions.”

Annabeth didn’t know how to express her emotions or deal with them. She just felt tired. 

“How about we sleep for now?” Piper said, her voice soothing.

Annabeth let Piper lay her down on her pillow and tucked the covers over her. Then Piper got into bed next her. Laying on her side, facing away from Annabeth.

A few minutes passed, and Annabeth looked at the clock. It read 3:12. Annabeth sighed and shifted her body around trying to get comfortable. She closed her eyes and tried to stop her mind from racing, but she couldn’t.

She shifted some more, until she felt a hand grab hers. She opened her eyes and saw Piper looking at her. Then she started to sing.

when you're old enough  
when you've been through it  
you won't know what it's like  
you can't see things the same

but you're closer now

did you close your eyes?  
did I close them first?  
you weren't strong enough  
i'm no stronger than you

but the years take their toll on us all  
i'm starting to see why you drifted away after all

and no one explains to you  
where the things go that you love  
'til they'e already gone

you held on for us  
the house gathered dust  
we were selfish then  
and we held on to things

but they're all gone now

did i take too long?  
did i ask too much?

i didn't love you as much as i could  
the silence is killing me now  
i'm starting to see why you drifted away after all

and no one explains to you  
where the things go that you love

how many times will i try to pretend that you're here?  
and i had a few questions i never got to ask you in time

cause you'd already gone

By the time Piper finished the song, Annabeth was fast asleep. 

That night Annabeth didn’t have any nightmares.


	2. Hum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank amazinggraciegurl for a lot of inspiration for this chapter. Please enjoy the second chapter :)

Annabeth felt like she had been walking for ages. The weights around her ankles slowed her down quite a bit, but eventually the cave had to end, right? The cold metal shackles pressed tightly into her skin, but she kept pushing forward. She needed a plan, but her mind was cloudy. So she decided to make a list of what she had on her.

She had on shorts and a camp half blood t-shirt. But was ripped as if she had been mauled by lion. Lots of claw marks. She reached to where her knife should be sheathed, but nothing was there. Annabeth soon realized the only things she had were her clothes.

It was too dark to make out the details of the cave, but it felt humid and was very extensive, judging from how long she had been waking. It felt the more she moved, the heavier they got. As if more weight was being piled on every step she took.

Suddenly the room vibrated. Large footsteps were coming towards her. She heard a laugh echoing from behind her. Annabeth turned around as fast as she could, but nothing was there. The laughter echoed again. Then a scream. She knew that voice. It was Piper. 

Annabeth became frantic. Her head was on a swivel. She was looking all around her but there was nothing. She wracked her brain for a way out, trying to think of plan, but her mind couldn’t focus. She just kept going back to the scream. 

Then she felt it. A subtle, almost tickle, on her leg. There on her knee, a small spider. Annabeth fell down screaming, clawing to get off. It lay splattered on her hand. 

Piper’s scream echoed once more, and Annabeth could of sworn it was right behind her. She scrambled up and turned around. There she was. Her face and body lit by a torch on the stone wall. She was battered, a cut bleeding on her forehead. The giant Mimas was standing over her fallen body, laughing as she tried to scoot back. Piper scrambled as he brought a club down on her. She managed to dodge his strikes sloppily. She pulled out her knife and charged slicing one of his arms, but the knife almost bounced off, harmlessly.

Annabeth screamed and surged forward, but the weights pulled her back. They were so heavy now, she couldn’t move a single step.

As she stood there, she felt another sting on her leg. Then another. And another. Her face turned white. She slowly turned around to see swarms of little spiders emerging from the shadows. They pooled around her ankles and starting climbing her legs. She screamed and tried to run. Tried to slap them off.

They kept coming. For each Annabeth swatted, another two took its place. 

They were at her waist now. She fell to the ground, on her stomach. 

Tears filled her eyes and she let out a sob. It was ugly and desperate. She tried to get Mimas’ attention, do anything to stop him, but it was like she wasn’t there. Her screams and sobs went unnoticed. He swung his club again, which Piper narrowly rolled out of the way of, but he followed it up with a punch that connected and sent her sprawling. Her knife clattered to the ground and Piper was defenseless.

Annabeth forgot the spiders and let them crawl up her waist. It was too gut wrenching to watch Piper being hurt, so she looked down, away from her, giving in.

Annabeth heard another scream and forced herself to look up. Mimas hefted his club and struck it down at Piper. She narrowly dodged it, but with each dodge, she was getting sluggish. After taking the punch, she was holding her ribs, and limping.

The spiders were up to her neck now.

Mimas laughed and lifted his club one more time. He brought it down with both hands and Piper was in its path. Piper made eye contact with Annabeth, right before she was about to be hit.

The spiders consumed her.

Annabeth woke up with tears still in her eyes. She sat up and cried. She let out hers sobs quietly, fists clenching her sheets. 

Always the same dream, but no matter how many times she sees it, it still is as traumatizing as the first.

Annabeth swears she can still feel the ghosts of the spiders on her legs. She gets up quickly and examines her bare legs. No spiders, nothing. Yet she could still feel them crawling all over her. She aggressively scratches them, leaves marks on her legs. Her skin was crawling and it was getting to be too much. She scratched her legs raw.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, Annabeth went to her closet and grabbed a sweater, before stepping out of her room to head to a certain daughter of Aphrodite’s room.

Annabeth shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked briskly to her destination. Even in the hold of the ship, it was still cold. The metal didn’t keep the same heat as the rooms, and it felt uninviting. Luckily Leo designed the Argo II so the rooms were so they were close together. 

She stepped to Piper’s door and, as usual, the light was on. Annabeth had developed a bad habit of coming to Piper when she had nightmares, which ended up being almost every night. She knocked and a few moments later, Piper opened the door.

“Annabeth, we have to stop meeting like this, someone might get the wrong idea.” Piper joked playfully, opening the door for her to enter. 

Annabeth smiled, but not without her cheeks getting a little red.

“So, you had the same dream again?” Piper asked.

“Yeah, the same one.”

“You know Annabeth, it might help if you tell me about it, I’m not sure how to help you otherwise.”

“I... I just can’t.” Not only was Annabeth embarrassed about the dream, it was very hard for her to talk about. She started scratching her legs again, thinking of the spiders. 

“Alright, I won’t force you to talk, but I’m worried about you Annabeth.”

Piper looked at her with those kaleidoscope eyes, and her heart ached.

“Well, lets get to bed.” Piper gently grabbed Annabeths hands to stop them from scratching so hard, and guided her to bed. Annabeth laid down, and let the warmth of Piper’s scent surround her. Piper shut off the light and got into bed next to her. 

Annabeth always felt nervous next to Piper. Was it weird to go to her instead of Percy? The feelings she felt around Piper, it was nothing like Percy. It was more intense with Piper, but Annabeth couldn’t explain it.

Annabeth was rigid sleeping next to Piper at first. She always was. But when Piper scooted closer and wrapped her arms around her, Annabeth could finally relax. 

It always went like this. Annabeth was always a nervous wreck, one move away a break down. Piper was a comforting embrace. Piper would tuck Annabeth’s head under her chin and hold her. It made her feel drowsy and warm.

Piper started to hum a slow tune Annabeth didn’t recognize. She would hum until Annabeth was fast asleep. And it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep at all.

In the morning, Piper would always wake up first. And today was no exception. Piper opened her eyes and saw wave after wave of golden curls in her face. She had to spit a few of them out of her mouth. She got up, stretching her arms which were asleep from the night before.

Annabeth let out a snort before turning over, now facing Piper. A small trail of drool left her mouth, and Piper couldn’t help but laugh a little. Annabeth looked so peaceful, it gave Piper a small hint of satisfaction that she could help. 

They had been traveling a few days, their final destination Greece, and every night Annabeth came knocking at her door. She was glad Annabeth came to her, considering Piper had a huge crush on her, but Piper couldn’t help but worry. Everyone needed to be at the top of their game to face the giants. Especially since they weren’t going to have the help of the gods.

Piper quickly changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a deep red shirt, before leaving her room to get breakfast. She wanted to give Annabeth as much time as possible to sleep.

She walked to the common area, where Jason, Percy and Hazel were eating at the table. Hazel was sitting at one end of the table, while Percy and Jason were at the other, talking animatedly.

“I’m just saying, the reefs surrounding my fathers palace are amazing, and they are better then anything the sky has to offer. They are so full of life.” Percy said confidently.

“No way, in the sky, you can walk on clouds. Who doesn’t want to walk on clouds?” Jason argued.

Piper gave Hazel a look which she returned with a smile. Honestly those two were constantly trying to one up each other. It got old really fast.

“Hey Piper.” Percy said with a smile.

“Hey Percy, hey Jason.” 

Jason just waved kind of awkwardly, which was strange for him.

Things were kind of weird around Jason ever since Piper broke up with him. It was hard to give him an explanation, but there were no hard feelings which Piper appreciated. Still he sometimes acted strangely.

Piper grabbed a bagel and sat down next to Hazel. 

“Hey Piper, have you seen Annabeth? She’s not in her room.” Percy asked.

Piper was kind of surprised. She assumed Percy knew that Annabeth was coming to her room. Now Piper didn’t know if she should tell him, since Annabeth hadn’t.

“No, I haven’t see her.”

Hazel narrowed her eyes at Piper, but said nothing. Piper knew she was a good liar, but under Hazel’s scrutinizing gaze, she wasn’t sure. Although, Percy seemed convinced.

Piper just went back to her bagel. 

“How did you sleep?” Hazel asked with a quiet voice.

“Good.” Piper felt that Hazel had some sort of ulterior motive asking that question.

“So, as it turns out, I’m usually up at night, and I couldn’t help but notice Annabeth leave her room almost every night for the past few days. Know anything about that?” Luckily Hazel knew enough to keep her voice down.

“Look Hazel, Annabeth has been having trouble sleeping. Ever since we fought Mimas, she has been having this nightmare, but she won’t talk about it. She comes to my room because I help her I guess.”

“Oh, so she’s in your room right now.”

Piper nodded.

“Well, why didn’t you tell Percy, her boyfriend.”

“Um... well, Annabeth didn’t tell him so I assumed it wasn’t my place.”

“But you like her, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question, more of an observation.

Piper turned bright pink.

“Well...I”

“Save it beauty queen, I’ll keep your secret.” Hazel smiled at her. “Is that why you broke up with Jason?” 

“Part of it.” Piper said meekly.

Hazel just laughed. 

Frank and Leo entered the room, so the only person who was missing was Annabeth.

“Leo Valdez has entered, make way peasants. Ladies, please, control yourselves. Piper, fetch me a bowl of fruity pebbles. Chop Chop!” Leo commanded as he sauntered into the room. 

Piper rolled her eyes and waved at Frank, who sat on the other side of Hazel with a muffin.

“So, we are all here but Annabeth, where is she? We should get started discussing the plan soon.” Frank said. Taking a bite of his muffin.

“We aren’t all here. My fruity pebbles are no where in sight.” Leo pouted, glaring at Piper. She smiled sweetly at him in return.

At that moment, Annabeth rushed in, still in her pajamas.

“I’m sorry you guys, I didn’t mean to sleep in.” Annabeth said as she sat down next to Piper, and took her bagel. 

Always the bagel.

“Annabeth where were you even sleeping? I looked in your room, you weren’t there.” Percy asked.

Annabeth turned pink, and Hazel nudged Piper’s foot under the table. Piper stayed silent.

Piper noticed Annabeth starting to scratch her leg aggressively like she did the night before. Piper quickly grabbed her hand to stop her, and Annabeth gave her a small smile. The strange thing was Annabeth didn’t pull away, she kept holding her hand under the table.

“I sometimes sleep in the stables, when I can’t sleep in my room.” Annabeth said.

“Oh okay.” Percy looked slightly unconvinced, but didn’t ask anything else. 

Piper didn’t know why she hated that Annabeth lied. It was like she wanted to flaunt in Percys dumb face that Annabeth was with her every night.

The rest of the time they talked about their inevitable doom, and after Piper wanted to talk to Annabeth, but Percy guided her away and they talked on the couch.

Hazel nudged her again.

“Okay Hazel, what is it?”

“Oh nothing.” Hazel feigned innocence and flashed her a toothy grin.

Piper just shook her head with a smile and went out on the deck. She walked to Festus, who was whirring and clicking, his beady eyes looking at her. Leo was the only one that could understand him, but Piper still had a respect for the figure head. 

“What do I do Festus? How can I be there for Annabeth when she won’t tell me what’s going on, and she’s too ashamed to even admit to being with me.”

Festus cocked his head and made a series of clicking noises.

“Whenever I’m around her, her emotions are so strong, I can feel she is suffering. I want to help, but I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.”

Festus just looked at her, as if the answer was obvious.

“Well, thanks for listening buddy.” 

Piper patted his noise before hading back to her room.

She laid down at her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her knife Katoptris was sitting on her nightstand. It was very tempting to look into. It had a way of beckoning her into looking. Every time she regretted it, but she could never learn her lesson. 

Sighing, Piper grabbed it and unsheathed it. Her reflection stared back, but it slowly melted away into an army of giants, standing in an empty field. They were armed to the teeth, and the Earth around the was moving, almost bubbling. Then they shifted to one of her dad, standing on the red carpet with adoring fans screaming his name, all clawing for his attention. He obliged and took photos and signed autographs. This morphed to a vision of a peacock being swallowed by the Earth.

Then they shifted to Annabeth, she was standing in a dark room, with shackles around her ankles, dragging around huge weights. She looked scared, and her clothes were tattered. Then she turned around suddenly. Before Piper could see what happened, the visions ended and her reflection stared back.

Frustrated and unsettled, she sheathed her knife and laid back down on her bed.

She couldn’t stop thinking of the look on Annabeth’s face. It was never clear if the visions in her knife were actual predictions or had meaning behind them. 

Whatever the case, Piper knew she had to talk to Annabeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why, but the nightmare was WAY easier for me to right then the rest of it. Constructive criticism and tips are super helpful. I’m trying hard to work on my writing. Any comments or kudos you leave are super helpful. Thanks :)


	3. Illusory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why this chapter took me so long. I’m not really sure where I want to go with this story, but I tried to make it lighter at the ending, I don’t know why my writing is always so depressing, maybe I’m just depressed. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy chapter 3

“Look, all I’m tryna say is, you’ve been distant and I want to know whats wrong. I feel like I barely see you.”

Annabeth stared at Percy, not knowing what to say. 

Percy stared back at her, his brows furrowed as he silently waited a reply. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze. There was something predatory about his eyes that made her want to curl up and hide under a blanket.

There was an itch on her leg, barely a tingle, and with it, the urge to scratch. So she did. Digging her nails harshly into her skin, she felt the spiders all over her body. Biting especially at her legs. 

After a moment of silence, Percy spoke up again, hints of frustration clear in his voice. Clearly he was ignoring Annabeth’s scratching, which was leaving a big red scratch mark.

“Annabeth please, I’m your boyfriend, and we have been through so much together. You should tell me.”

With each question she started to scratch more aggressively, and dug into her skin.

“I... I just don’t want to talk about it. I can’t.” She said, not meeting his eyes. She didn’t want to explain it to him. He wouldn’t get. Percy wasn’t the greatest listener, or at giving advice. Annabeth didn’t want to be vulnerable in front of him. Not right now.

“But you should!” He said, raising his voice, and scooting closer on the couch. “People who are dating tell each other things.”

Annabeth said nothing. Percy kept scooting in closer, and Annabeth wanted to run away from him. She wanted to tell him she needed space, that this wasn’t the best time, anything, but for some reason, her voice was trapped in her throat.

“I know what will make you feel better, if you won’t talk to me, your boyfriend, maybe this will help.” 

Percy leaned in closer, lifting her chin, going in for a kiss Annabeth didn’t really want. His other hand went to her waist, then her back, then lower.

The spiders. Her legs. She couldn’t stand. Couldn’t defend herself. 

Suddenly the door opened, and Annabeth turned her head to see Piper come in, with a determined look on her face. 

Annabeth stopped scratching. 

Percy tried to tilt Annabeth’s head back, but Piper marched over and stood right before them.

“Sorry you two, but Annabeth, I need you for a moment.”

Before either of them could say a word, Piper gently grabbed Annabeth’s wrist and dragged her out of the room. Once they were in Piper’s room, Piper turned to face her. Her eyes were laced with worry, and something else.

Annabeth didn’t know what came over her, but tears filled her eyes, and she blinked to try and stop them from falling.

“Thank you Piper.” Annabeth said quietly.

Piper looked a bit surprised, ”Thanks for what?” She asked.

Annabeth closed her eyes, and turned her head down. 

“Please Annabeth, don’t close off, I want to help you sweetie.”

Annabeth’s hand went to her leg and scratched. She could feel the spiders, there was no doubt they were on her leg. She kept her eyes drilled shut. 

Piper noticed Annabeth’s weird nervous tick of scratching her leg, and she didn’t know why she did it, but Annabeth needed to relax. Annabeth had been doing it a lot recently, whenever she was nervous or being put on the spot. 

Piper wasn’t stupid, anyone could of noticed how uncomfortable she looked with Percy too. There had been tension between the two as well, which was awkward for everyone else. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

Piper grabbed her hand that was scratching, and hugged Annabeth. Even though Piper was shorter, she wrapped Annabeth in a full embrace. Annabeth tucked her head on Piper’s shoulder, and they just stood there for a while. She could hear Annabeth sniffle occasionally, and her shoulder got a little wet from were Annabeth’s head rested.

Piper rubbed her back, and did everything she could to relax Annabeth.

Annabeth pulled away after a moment, looking down and rubbing her face furiously.

“Thanks for um... getting me away from Percy.” Annabeth said so softly she almost didn’t hear her.

Piper felt a rush of anger.

“What was he doing?” Piper asked, leading Annabeth to her bed, where she sat against the head board, patting the space next her. Annabeth sat down next to her and cuddled into her side, tears still in her eyes.

“He... he was saying all these things, to um... make me feel bad. I-I just let him, he was putting his hands on me and trying to kiss me. And I let him. He made me feel bad. If you hadn’t come in Piper...” 

Annabeth rested her head on Piper and cried some more. Tucking her legs up to her chest as they laid, Annabeth curled impossibly closer to Piper. She noticed the angry marks from Annabeth’s aggressive scratching. Not thinking it through, she reached and gently rubbed her thigh. Annabeth flinched, and Piper removed her hand, cursing herself, but Annabeth grabbed her wrist and guided it back to her leg. 

Surprised, Piper kept rubbing her leg gently. Annabeth looked up at her, eyes and nose red from crying. The sight shattered her heart into a million pieces, and Piper got so angry at Percy, she surprised herself with her anger.

They laid like that for a while, and Piper realized Annabeth fell asleep. Knowing now how Percy was manipulating Annabeth made Piper want to get her as far away from him as possible. She had to make Annabeth see what he was doing, which meant she had to get to the bottom of her nightmares so she could think clearly once again.

Annabeth’s warm breath on her collarbone distracted Piper from her thoughts. Annabeth started squirming and whispered something. Piper leaned closer to try and hear and heard Annabeth whisper her name. She could see Annabeth’s eyes darting around under eyelids. She was clearly having a nightmare, and Piper, not knowing what else to do, started singing. 

At first, nothing really happened, but her legs stopped squirming and her eyes stopped darting around as much. Her muscles relaxed, and Piper stroked her head, gently playing with her gorgeous blonde curls. Piper had it bad, Annabeth was so beautiful, not jus with looks, but getting to know her at camp showed Piper it was worth getting to know Annabeth Chase. She had such a bright mind, she carried herself with confidence. Others respected her, people would respond to her. 

Realizing she was getting distracted, Piper gently shook her awake, and Annabeth’s eyes shot open. Dazed, Annabeth got up and rubbed her eyes. When she turned and saw Piper, her eyes widened and she pounced and wrapped her arms around Piper. She sat back and started looking her all over.

“Piper, oh gods, you’re... you’re okay.” 

Piper realized Annabeth was checking her over for injuries.

“Annabeth,” Piper said in a soothing voice, ”you’re on the Argo II, it was just a bad dream. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Annabeth looked up, her eyes tore from scanning Piper to taking in her surroundings.

Suddenly, Annabeth pulled back from Piper, she stood up from the bed, and hugged herself protectively. Piper stood up just as quick.

“Please don’t go Annabeth, tell me what’s going on.” Piper in no way wanted to manipulate her like Percy, but she also knew Annabeth couldn’t keep going on like this.

“I-I dreamed that we were back in the cave. I was a-all alone and I was chained.” Piper thought back to the vision she saw in Katoptris, and the look of horror on Annabeth’s face made her want to sob. This was what Annabeth was dreaming of? 

“I always hear laughs and screams, and the...” Annabeth’s voice quivered, and her hands went back to her leg. 

“Annabeth, keep going, you are safe, we will always have each other, and the rest of team.” Piper grabbed her hands once more, pulling them away from her legs.

“The spiders. They crawl on me. On my legs. Everywhere. I can feel them. It-they swallow me...”

Suddenly the ship lurched, and tilted to the side. They both stumbled, but supported each other. There was yelling coming from the deck.

They gave each other a nod before running out of Piper’s room on to the deck.

It was chaos. These serpent like creatures were swimming out of the water and slithering their way up onto the deck. They must if been two meters long each, and were a light green color. They wrapped their slimey bodies around every structure they could, constricting to damage as many components as possible. Two were already on one of the port ballista, ripping it from its stand. There must of been dozens of them, all over the ship. 

Hazel already had her broadsword out and was cutting up the ones climbing the central mast. Festus was burning any to a crisp that were stupid enough to get close to him. Frank, at least she assumed it was Frank, turned into a giant eagle and was picking them off the side of the ship. Leo had some strange weapon resembling a nerf gun in his hands, blasting the snakes with some gooey looking projectiles. She couldn’t see Percy or Jason.

Pulling out their knives, the two woman got to work hacking of the snakes on the ballista. 

Annabeth fiercely cut off the head of one that made it up the side. She had a determined look on her face, a stone cold mask hiding whatever was happening moments before.

Hearing a hiss behind her, Piper whirled around to see three snakes, larger then the others. These snakes had hoods, and slithered their heads into the air. They must of been 5 meters long each, and they where alarmingly bigger then the rest. 

One of them spit dark green venom at her, which she dodged. It splattered, some drops landing on her, burning her shirt. 

Turns out it was highly corrosive, Piper didn’t want any on her skin.

The others followed and spat more venom at her, which due to limited space on the deck, she barely dodged. Piper charged the one on the right, which got to excited and charged ahead of its pals. It bared its  
fangs and Piper moved to the side of it as it lunged and drove her knife into the back of its head. Frank swooped down and picked up one another, before flying away, carrying it with his talons.

The last one spit more venom, keeping its distance from Piper. Not aware of her surroundings, another snake come over the railing behind her and was closing in. Piper was about to charge the last venomous snake when the snake behind her wrapped itself around her legs in an instant. 

She tripped and fell over. It snaked its way up her legs, and Piper hefted her knife, but another snake wrapped itself around her shoulder and arm, and she couldn’t move it, her grip on the knife weakened, and it clattered to the ground. 

Piper tried charmspeak next.

“Let me go right now!” She poured all the charm she could, but it wasn’t working. She probably sounded like an idiot.

They kept wrapping around more of her body, and she could feel them constricting tighter and tighter. The tighter they got, the harder their rough scales scraped against her clothes and skin, leaving angry red marks and cuts on her skin.

Piper screamed for anyone. She hoped someone could help before it was to late. One wrapped itself around her neck, she could feel her windpipe quickly closing.

Piper let out one final scream, and the snake constricted again, closing her throat completely. Black spots danced in her vision and she could feel herself starting to dip out of consciousness. She heard someone cry out before the pressure on her body lessoned. Then, she felt a warm liquid splatter on her waist, and the snake wrapped around her lower body completely slackened.Soon after, the one around her neck completely loosened. 

Piper laid there, gasping for air, desperately trying to catch her breath. Her vision cleared, and Piper looked up and saw Annabeth, her knife driven into the neck of the last snake. She pulled it out and smirked at Piper, before returning to the fight.

Piper thought she would faint, and it was in no way related to almost being choked to death.

Grabbing Katoptris off the deck, she followed close behind Annabeth.

It took a while, but soon the rest of the snakes were driven off the ship. After her adrenaline wore off, she could feel aches on her shoulder and around her neck, as well as on her hips. Her head started to ache as well, a steady throb pounding against her temples. Bruises and cuts from the snake scales peppered her body, but it could of been worse. Deciding to ignore her injuries, she went to help the others deal with cleanup.

Most of the work was actually from scraping off those gooey clumps Leo shot. They did a good job dealing with the snakes, but were a pain to get out. Not one of Leo’s brightest plans, his aim was... not exceptional. Piper sighed as she got on her knees, scraping the stains on the floor and walls.

As she scraped, Piper couldn’t help but glance over at Annabeth, who was helping Frank lift the ballista back onto it’s mount. Piper couldn’t look away as Annabeth’s body strained with effort, her hair slightly disheveled, clothes ruffled and some strange goo splattered on her. Piper easily got distracted by her toned arms.

Gorgeous.

Obviously she was too distracted, because Hazel snuck up on her and jolted her from behind. Hazel laughed and grinned. Piper wanted pout and act angry, but when Hazel smiled, it was hard not to smile too.

“Oh Piper, sometimes I wonder how you lie so good, when you can’t hide your crush for shit!” Hazel joked. Piper spit out her metaphorical drink, it was rare for the daughter of Hades to curse.

Feeling the blush on her neck, Piper tried to play it off, but Hazel could tell Piper was embarrassed. 

“Just...shut up Hazel!” Piper playfully punched her arm. 

Hazel kneeled down to help Piper scrape up Leo’s mess, and after an hour of cleaning, they finished. 

“Well, I think we deserve a cold drink after that.” Hazel said, wiping some sweat off her forehead. 

Piper nodded in agreement, she had worked up a sweat as well. Working in the hot sun of the Mediterranean was not the most enjoyable task.

They entered the common area, and Hazel grabbed them two bottles of water, while Piper flopped on the couch.

They sat together in silence, taking sips from their water. It was nice to enjoy moments like these, especially when in two days they would arrive at their final destination.

Annabeth walked in, with a smile on her face. When their eyes met, her face turned serious. Annabeth came over and looked Piper over.

“Are you hurt Piper?” Annabeth asked, kneeling in front of her. 

“Well.. I just got a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious.” Piper said, grinning at her. 

Annabeth frowned and starting poking at her sides. Piper flinched when she prodded a particularly tender bruise on her ribcage. 

“Piper, we should go to the infirmary, just in case, clearly you’re injured.” 

This time, Annabeth dragged Piper out by the wrist. As her head was out the door, Piper swore she saw Hazel wink and shoot finger guns at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I titled this chapter illusory because when I was thinking of what to write I listened to ilusory sense by ichika and was inspired. He is one of my favorite guitarists ever. I love his visuals and his music. I think I’ll recommend a song or artist from now on every chapter if you guys like it.
> 
> Comment and kudos mean a lot to me. Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this. Also constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. I really want to improve my writing. Any mistakes you see please let me know, I always miss them.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Rocofort :3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I’m so thirsty for angst I surprise myself sometimes. Comments and kudos keep me going, so if you have any thoughts please let me know :) 
> 
> Also if you think I should add more chapters let me know. I have plans for more, I just wasn’t sure if it’s good.


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